My prediction for the end of the book was that Enrique was going to reunite with his mother and then both of them would go back to live to Honduras with his sister Belky. But after I read the ending it turned out to be a complete different ending full of surprises and plot twists. Something that took me by surprise was how Enrique began to change towards his mother and the way he treated her was something I never expected. I thought that once he was with her he would be the happiest he ever would be and would stop his addictions. Surprisingly, Enrique began a new addiction, this time not only to drugs but to alcohol. I also expected for Enrique to hate his American sister Diana or hold some type of grudge against her but if there was anyone who Enrique loved more than anyone, it was her. Another thing that was probably the biggest plot twist was when Maria Isabel, Enrique’s girlfriend, took the decision of leaving her 3 year old daughter behind to go with Enrique to the United States. The author had already described the isolation Enrique was creating for her and when that was ending it really took me by surprise. And lastly, I never expected for Belky to see her mother at all. Furthermore, I never expected them to meet through a popular TV show, but I can overall say the ending was a good one.

The most interesting character from the book, in my opinion was Enrique. Not just because he was the main character of the book but because he had to make a lot of tough decisions to get to where he wanted to. I found Enrique very interesting by the very first chapter of the book because of how he adapted to his mother’s decision. I myself could not of imagined how bad I would of reacted knowing my mother was probably never going to come back. Enrique explains his sadness and painfulness throughout his childhood by demonstrating different patterns of attitude changes. I never thought he would take the path of drugs, simply because I thought he would want to make his mother proud but I also understand him because his mother lied to him many times and brought his hopes up for nothing. Another interesting thing that I found in Enrique was his courage and determination to get to the United States no matter how many attempts it took him. He attempted dangerous rides through trains for four months. Experiencing depressing and traumatizing things by seeing people that tried riding the trains, get their legs or other parts of their body’s ripped off. Enrique also crossed the dangerous Rio Grande without knowing how to swim and avoiding patrol officials. What triggered me the most about him was how once he reunited with his mother he began to act different than what I expected after living with her for a couple of months.

From the beginning to the end of the first chapter you can already tell that Enrique, the main character of the book has changed drastically. The first change the reader can tell Enrique makes is when he starts describing his resentment against both of his parents for abandoning him. After this he makes another drastic decision that changes the way he looks at life and his current situation. Enrique being only 17 years old starts smoking marijuana and other illegal substances, furthermore he drops out of school making his mother and other relatives really disappointed. Other events that contributed to Enrique’s attitude changes was his relationship with his girlfriend Maria Isabel, whom he got pregnant after he left to the United States. When Enrique finally meets with his mother, he goes through an extreme change phase and starts being a complete different and better person. Another character that evolved throughout the story was Enrique’s mother, Lourdes. Lourdes goes to the United States with her mind set that she will give Enrique and Belky a good life in Honduras, surely she succeeds but then starts making mistakes. Lourdes after two years of being in the United States she gets pregnant by a man who leaves her right after she has her daughter, Diana. When she reunites with Enrique she is finally happy again. Maria Isabel, Enrique’s girlfriend, also begins to change after Enrique leaves. At first they would always talk and have communication but as time would passed, Maria Isabel starting maturing and started realizing that she didn’t need Enrique in her life and soon got herself a job to support her daughter, Jasmin.

After reading the first chapter of Enrique’s journey, it really succeeded my expectations. I thought the book would turn out to be boring and just full of facts. But by reading the first page you could sense the feeling of how the decision that was going to be made in the beginning of the book, would have the biggest impact on the story. Enrique who at the moment is only 5 years old is abandoned by his mother, Lourdes, who is going to travel to the United States seeking for a job so she can send money to her children for them to go to school and have a full stomache. Enrique who is the smallest out of all the kids clearly expresses his confusion and sadness as to who will take care of him now? He has his grandmother but the absence of his mother really affects him. Days later Enruqye and his family get the news that his mother made it into the United States safely and got a job cleaning houses. Each month she sends a good amount of money so that her kids can continue school and have the best clothes and shoes. Enrique now lives his dad since his grandmother didnt have enough to support all of them. Sadly enough, Enrique’s father meets a women whom he gets married to and has kids with and eventually sends Enrique back with his grandmother. Enrique now feels like both of his parents have abandoned him, which leads him to make some bad decisions. Enrique now becomes a drug addict and takes the decision he is going to go look for his mother.

I chose the book Enrique’s Journey, first of all because I saw it was a National Bestseller. Another reason why I chose this book was because I know a lot of people, relatives and many friends of my parent’s that have gone through the same thing Enrique did but dont dare to describe or explain how their journey was. Since a lot of people dont like to share this story I wanted to see what they went through and why a lot of them wouldn’t share theiir story. The author Sonia Nazario shares the same thought as me. And that’s what this book is about, Sonia Nazario experiencing the journey of Enrique as a Honduran immigrant illegally immigrating to the U.S in search of his mother. Like a lot of friends I know, many of them grew up with out their mother’s in their early years. That was because many mother’s from Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and most of Central America migrate to the U.S through a very dangerous route, including what mostly this whole book is about, trains. Train hopping is the main idea of this book. Kids from ages as early as 7 years old start migrating on these in search of their mothers. Most of the immigrants who travel are in between the ages of 14 and 25 and are mostly all male. Not many women choose to travel through this way because they can encounter the many disadvantages such as rape, getting pregnant and getting assassinated easily or like the male population, loosing parts of your body because of the train tracks.